WHY I BELIEVE IN RE-EMBODIMENT
I remember when I was a lad, still unmindful of the highways and byways in life, I and some of my playmates already heard the term reincarnation in one of the episodes on TV program but we didn’t pay much attention to it except that we jokingly defined it as a popular brand of milk during that time in the Philippines – Carnation. This is probably because we were reared in the predominantly Christian environment. Our parents and relatives were Christians. I remember, during my teenage years, that I used to listen to my father and my godfather (one who serve as my second father based on catholic sacrament of baptism) exchanging repartee about religious beliefs. My father’s sources of knowledge which he used as reference in their discussions were the books and magazines of Jehovah’s witnesses. Their discussions aroused my interests in searching for truth. I also read those books of Jehovah’s Witnesses and used the same in my religious discussions with my friends and classmates in high school. Two of these books were: “Things in which it is impossible for God to Lie” and “The Truth shall make you Free”. I’ve thought of beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be true for a number of years. Their logic and biblical-quotation line of reasoning struck a cord in my psyche that resonates with them. However, my thirst for truth was never quenched; I had many puzzling questions about life that they couldn’t provide satisfactory answers. Questions like: Why are there evils manifesting in this world? Does God allow this to happen? Why some people were born with infirmities or living in unfortunate circumstances while others were comparatively living in a much better life, when both are considered righteous? Why there are even bad people whose life situations were fortunate compared to the good guys? What would happen to the souls who died without knowing Christianity perhaps born with other religion or indigenous community? What if a person were born under an environment with atheist parents, perhaps an officer in a communist government, that compelled him to follow the same ideology then died early, then according to most Christian beliefs, he will be punished in afterlife. Did God make all these? Isn’t God responsible for them being born under those circumstances? Why would God make these? If so, there is injustice in this God-made universe. But in spite of these seemingly baffling questions, I know deep within me that our God is a just and righteous God so there should be right and precise answers to these questions. I could not accept the reply that it’s one of God’s life’s mysteries.
Then one day, my father pointed to me an article in the newspaper about a psychic/seer (Edgar Cayce) who was formerly a failure or slow learner in school in his younger days that his father was so angry with him. One day after his father taught him some lessons about a book, he fell asleep with the book on his head. Upon waking up, his father asked him questions about the lessons he taught, but he was astonished that his son was able to answer everything. Edgar Cayce became a seer who channels a certain personality from another dimension during trance states of consciousness. During sessions, people would ask questions and he gave answers through channelling. As a result, he had published many books and I got hold some of those in my college days. In the book “Edgar Cayce’s Story of Attitudes and Emotions”, I found a discussion on the concept of karma and reincarnation. Then I realized that it adequately answered all my puzzling questions about life.
REINCARNATION IN EASTERN RELIGION
The concept of reincarnation and karma is embedded in eastern religions. According to this belief everyone here on earth have undergone many cycles of birth and rebirth. The primary reason is everyone had done unwholesome actions or created negative karma in previous earthly lives, and so they have to be reborn and live on earth again in order to experience the same pains that they had inflicted to various parts of life. The unwholesome actions served as karmic debts that must be paid off. Since it isn’t possible to pay off all these immense negative karma in one lifetime (sometimes new karma were added), it will be paid in subsequent life or lives. And so, according to this doctrine, everyone on earth has been reincarnated perhaps hundreds or thousands of times.
This law of karma and reincarnation is often considered to be the natural law of cause and effect. If the cause that one has set in motion was negative he/she will get negative effect. What ye sow, ye shall reap. If for example someone has killed another, this same act will return to this person or meet tragic accident. If he stole pieces of necklace, he will lose the same value of property, too. If he abused or maltreated someone, he will be abused and maltreated, too. The law of karma is immutable and infallible and exact in detail. Every erg of energy that a person sent out to other parts of life shall return to him or her. If he/she didn’t receive the effects of his actions in the current life, he/she will receive them in his next life or lives. Diseases of the body can also be part of karma. This is because every negative thoughts and emotions (which can build up into a negative character if the same pattern is repeated many times over) are stored in the soul’s memory body which can be carried over to the next embodiment to manifest as disease later or earlier in life. But not all diseases are karmic effects from past lives, for some or majority of them were due to excessive eating of harmful foods or drinking alcohols and smoking cigarettes. Looking from a different perspective, negative karma should never be construed as punishment. It is better to be taken as an opportunity to return into Divine alignment what had been out of alignment as a result of negative action. Conversely, positive energies that are set in motion will also bear positive fruits.
It could be asked why the soul cannot remember her past lives in the present embodiment. Based on Ascended Masters Teachings, it is the mercy of the law that the memory of past embodiments cannot be remembered by the soul. For remembering all those past experiences in one stream of consciousness can be too burdensome for the soul to carry. It’s better for the soul to be born and appear to begin a fresh life. Although there are few cases that even a child can have recollection of past embodiment.
As far as I know, according to Buddhist teachings, another reason why an individual keeps coming back here on earth is because of attachment to earthly existence; he still desires earthly pleasures. The goal then of this teaching is to free one’s self from the wheels of birth and rebirth, i.e., to stay in Heavenly realm or become Ascended Being, by practicing non-attachment and balancing karma. This is done by applying what the Buddhists call the eightfold path – a number of spiritual disciplines leading to enlightenment, thus ending his sufferings on earth. Other Buddhist teachings claim that studying their scriptures and giving certain Buddhist mantras can help them pay off and balance karma.
This eastern philosophy would then explain why there were people who were born blind or deaf or with other physical handicap or find themselves in abject poverty and/ or other unfortunate circumstances in their lives; while others were born enjoying health, wealth, even spirituality, and all fortunes in life. The reason is they are simply reaping the good or bad effects of what they’ve done in previous lifetimes.
Not knowing this law can sometimes turn a person into unbeliever if a painful event occurred to him/her. This reminded me of a good young man, who has very good parents, too. Suddenly this young man was stricken with a terminal disease so that it was inevitable for him not to stay alive for a few more periods of time. This young man suddenly became unbeliever possibly because he couldn’t fathom why that was happening to him. When he would hear his parents and relatives mention God, he would always yell, ‘’There is no God!’’ I reckoned that had he known about the law of karma and reincarnation, he could have understood his situation and left everything to God. The calm acceptance of the situation and prayers could have prolonged, if not saved his life. He should have been drawn closer to God instead. But of course, other alternative reason is that the young man could be lacking in faith or misguided by intellect for there were others who have no knowledge of reincarnation and karma but simply accepted the same situation, have prayed in their hearts and changed one’s attitudes in life.
WHAT IS MISSING IN EASTERN RELIGION
However, I don’t agree with the concept of transmigration of the soul into the animal body as part of the teaching in eastern religions. It could be true a long time ago. But I’d like to impart to you that based on what I learned from Ascended Masters Teachings through the Summit Lighthouse, this belief no longer applies in this age. One of the reasons as far as I can remember is because there were so many people, who kill and eat animals, and consequently by karmic law, these people will re-embody into animal bodies but that would cause a cessation of human evolution. Because being embodied in animal form would mean absence of divine spark that’s only possible and reserve for the human body.
The belief on the transmigration of soul into animal body like the one mentioned above were antiquated and the followers of eastern religion aren’t aware of new dispensations that the Karmic Board (Lords of Karma) have put into operation for earth’s evolution. (According to Ascended Masters Teachings, the Karmic Board dispenses justice to this system of worlds, adjudicating karma, mercy and judgement on behalf of every lifestream. All lifestreams pass before the Karmic Board before each incarnation on earth to receive their assignment and karmic allotment for that lifetime. They pass before the Karmic Board again at the conclusion of each lifetime to review their performance). The organizations of the Ascended Master’s Teachings have become instruments to convey new dispensations from Heavenly octave being made available to mankind through their anointed Messengers and Representatives. For example, on the matter of freeing oneself from the rounds of reincarnation on earth (which is called Ascension using the term of Ascended Masters Teachings), the Brotherhood of Light has already made known that to win your Ascension you must balance 51% of your karma and fulfil your divine mission. It’s no longer balancing 100% of karma as what the Buddhists and Hindus could still believe in. Perhaps one reason for this reduction is many have already won their Ascensions, and since all lifestreams are connected at inner levels, the collective consciousness and evolution of mankind have been raised up to a degree that will merit this dispensation. Another possible reason, in my opinion, is there were fallen angels (like Lucifer and Satan and some who were embodied on earth like Hitler), who have already met their second deaths (death of the soul; no more identity, thus vanished from existence); this has lessened the dark forces, though their seeds can still influence mankind. Balancing only 51% of karma, however, does not mean you will not balance the remaining 49%. According to Summit Lighthouse, the soul will be required to descend to astral plane (maybe compared to purgatory of the Catholic belief), a lower plane of existence in contradistinction to Heavenly realm (etheric plane), to balance the remaining 49% of karma there. This could be in the form of ministering to the souls trapped in this lower plane. However, it is more difficult to balance karma in the astral plane than balancing it in the physical plane (earth).
BALANCING KARMA
Logically speaking, balancing one’s karma in our mundane life can mean maintaining positive attitudes and doing constructive actions in the face of trials and challenges and never to create negative karma anymore. Trials and challenges can be in the form of business bankruptcy, lost of job, diseases of the body, lost of loved ones, and breakdown in relationships. It isn’t easy to maintain positive thoughts and feelings under these negative circumstances especially if one is lacking in spirituality. However, it is good to bear in mind that a person will not be given trials which he or she cannot pass. As stated in the scripture, “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”. Prayers, applying Christly virtues, and doing appropriate actions can readily be summoned to solve the problems at hand. On the other hand, the Ascended Masters have provided an important tool to balance and mitigate karma even before it comes to your doorstep by using the Science of the Spoken Word called dynamic decrees; this can be used for personal and planetary transmutations of karma especially by invoking the Violet Flame, the seventh ray aspect of the Holy Spirit, along with other form of dynamic decrees. I’ll talk more about these later for this is a new topic. You can look for them however, in the websites of Ascended Master’s Teachings organizations if you like.
In my view, karma in the form of financial loses, diseases, or even injury and accident can easily be balanced by many people because more often than not, they will accept it as their fate then move on with their life perhaps a bit of a changed person. It is in the area of conflict in human interactions and relations where many are failing their tests. This can take place at home in family relationships, in the workplace, in every organizations whether it is professional, spiritual or civic; in a sudden conflict with a stranger in the shopping mall, or even in an online chat or forum . Sometimes karma of this sort is designed to challenge our character weaknesses in order to transform us. Whatever your greatest weakness is, there will your greatest challenge be, and there you will feel its full weight. But if another person without that particular weakness were to experience the same karmic situation, that karma will be piece of cake for him. If for example your weakness in character is aggressiveness and getting angry easily, you will always find yourself in a situation that will challenge that negative character. But a very harmonious, peaceful and loving person put in that same situation wouldn’t see it as a challenge at all. Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness and compassion and other passages in the New Testament, I believe, are very powerful formula to pass karmic tests on human interactions. Remembering some of the words of God will help much. ”Father forgive them, they know not what they do”; “I AM my brother’s keeper”; ”He is not heavy father, he is my brother”; ”In your patience, possess ye your soul”. But of course, this is not to say you won’t do anything to correct another’s abuse or mistake. It can be done in a positive manner.
Often, the karmic circumstances in life become burdensome because of our attachment to ego. One of the Ascended Masters, I think it was Lord Lanto, who said, “Ego is the seat of all man’s problems. What are known as inferiority and superiority complexes revolve entirely around the pride and frustrations of the ego.”
MOMENTUM FROM PAST LIVES
As mentioned earlier, every thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds that the soul has set in motion whether good or bad will be stored in its memory body and these will be retained even after death, and into subsequent re-embodiments. This explains why there were child prodigies who can exceptionally play pieces of music on piano or violin or demonstrate other talents, even when parent’s characteristics were absent. This also explains why some people have momentum on doing malevolent deeds and some can do good deeds with ease. This is the meaning of the passage in the Bible: “He who hath, more shall be given, and he who hath not, even that which he hath, shall be taken away from him.”
You may think that the person’s character, personality, and even health were due to the influence of genes and environment. No they are not; they are all part of the soul's memory body that determines the playing out of the karma of the soul. For even your parents, children, siblings, relatives and friends, and even your physique as well as your place of birth and nationality are all parts of karmic connections and circumstances (good and bad) precisely determined by the Lords of karma based on infallible Cosmic Law. Other esoteric school of thought teaches that the soul will be shown by the Lords of Karma of a number of possible futures for him on earth, all based on Cosmic law, and she is asked to choose which one she likes; so that it is actually the soul who chose his life on earth including her parents and environment. However, in any case, the soul is given an opportunity to transcend her genes, her karma and environmental influence, in fact to transform herself through the power of the Holy Spirit and God Presence within.
LAW OF KARMA AND REINCARNATION IS COMPLEX
According to Ascended Masters Teachings, the law of karma and reincarnation is complex to be fully comprehended by mortal man; there are many variable factors involved. In my association with Summit Lighthouse Group, I learned that the normal process of soul’s reincarnation is alternately male and female although there were times that this was not the case. The souls who were born gay or lesbian are encountering karma due to their abuse of masculine or feminine polarity in past life or lives. Some examples of the abuse of masculinity are a husband who excessively mistreats or beats his wife, and a macho dancer in a pub. This soul could later be embodied gay in its next life. An example of abuse of feminine polarity is a lady who practices excessive acts of prostitution, whose soul can later be embodied as lesbian. Another law that is apparently linked to the law of karma is the law of cycles. There will always be times when winds of good destiny are in your sail and times when it will be against it; times when you will be on top and times when you will be at the bottom. This applies individually and collectively on planetary scale.
Sometimes you could hear news of airplane and train crashes, or sinking of passenger ships where many people lost their lives. These show that karma can happen not only to individual but also in groups. There are also national karma and planetary karma that appear as political upheavals, economic crisis, wars, earthquakes, weather disturbances and famines. I believe that even the adulteration and degradation of true spiritual knowledge and teachings that have been handed down from generation to generation is part of planetary karma.
To my mind, the Law of karma and reincarnation can be likened to a chess game. The reason why you find yourself in a negative or disadvantageous position was because you have made bad move/s or decision/s in the past. Except that in real life you have no opponent, instead a Cosmic Teacher of immutable Universal Law that desires your mastery. When you re-embody again to play another game on this chessboard of life, you will most likely find yourself playing the same defence, but this time you don’t want to repeat the same mistake. This planet earth is like a schoolroom so that we can graduate, if possible with honors. In my view, it’s possible that If not for the law of karma and reincarnation, we could not have progressed and reached the present stage of evolution, where many have opportunity to win their ascension.
I will continue this topic in my next post...